Thursday, October 31, 2019

Improvement of the Human Capital in Canada Research Paper

Improvement of the Human Capital in Canada - Research Paper Example Comprehensive development includes increasing the knowledge and skill of employees within the workforce. While the initial benefits occur in the industry, the individuals achieve surmountable development through increased knowledge. Highly qualified human capital could contribute immensely to the economic development of different countries. The productivity of any industry depends heavily on the available skills utilized in the manufacturing of products. The human capital can determine the quality of products produced within a country, owing to the skills possessed by the people (Crook et al, 2011). Development of quality production, therefore, would include initial development of human capital at early stages. A proper development program would essentially provide policies seeking to initiate human capital development in schools while offering support to the individuals within the program. Improving human capital through education remains the most popular method of approaching the development paradigm in human capital. The selection of this policy from the broad policy area of income, inequality, and poverty, follows a consideration of the aspects involved in the other policy choices. Within the broad area are three policy categories, seeking to elevate the Canadian citizens from excessive levels of poverty. The broad category involves three elements; income, inequality and poverty. The selection would involve a policy that would sufficiently address the challenges involved in the three categories identified (Riddell, 2007). While the other policy choices involve the implementation of multiple policies in achieving target objectives, this policy choice remains simplified in terms of the implementation process. The enriching of anti-poverty programs would involve numerous programs across the country, which could potentially raise the costs of implementing the policy. The other policy categories remain broad and lack specificity in terms of beginning points and target groups for the policy. The selected policy offers a clear definition of the intended population and implementation stage.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Foundations of Mythology Short Answers Essay Example for Free

Foundations of Mythology Short Answers Essay How is the word myth used popularly? For example, what does the statement, â€Å"It’s a myth† mean? In contrast, how is the word myth used in the academic context? After considering the definition in your textbooks and course materials, write a definition in your own words. The statement â€Å"It’s a myth† to me means that it is not true or not fully true. There may be some truth but there is some false information added to the story. Myths- the rich rewards awaiting questioners willing to approach myths from numerous points of view are all open-ended fields of inquiry (Leonard and McClure, 2004). Myths are stories that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins, while others are completely fictional. But myths are more than mere stories and they serve a more profound purpose in ancient and modern cultures (PBS, 2005). Myths have been around for a long time and they are stories and they have been told for a long time. Not all myths are true but there are cases that they do have some truth to them. There are myths that are throughout history and there is good and evil depending on the story that is being told. Why do myths from different cultures around the world address such similar or universal themes? Think about how myths explain the unknown and the tribulations of mankind. Many of the myths are passed down to all the different generations and they will keep going just like they always have. Some of the myths are the same as another but they are in with a different culture behind it because many people believe in different religions or just different beliefs. Myths explain the unknown and things that we do not even now happen at times. The subjects of myths reflect the universal concerns of mankind throughout history: birth, death, and the afterlife, the origin of man and the world, good and evil and the nature of man himself (PBS, 2005). The myths are made by people and they are then passed down for future generations to come so that they have an idea of what happened past years. With the different cultures there are many different religions and that is also a reason why there are so many different versions of the same myth, they are all just worded differently. What is the relationship between belief, knowledge, mythology, and religion? Where do mythology and religion intersect? Where do they diverge? Think about the function of myth and religion in helping human beings cope with change, suffering, loss, and death. A belief is something that we have been told and that we believe in, knowledge would be having the correct information for the truth. Mythology is the study of myths and can be a collection of myths, religion is what people believe in and it can be a collection of beliefs. Mythology and religion intersect because they both have beliefs and they have stories that are followed by Gods, heroes and so on. With the myths and religions it makes people cope with loss and death a little easier, not that either is ever a good thing but with the thought of seeing your loved one again someday when you go to heaven or to know that they are angels looking over us makes bad times such as these a little more bearable. Myths can be fun stories to believe in because of the meaning behind the stories, and learning about certain religions can be very interesting to where more and more people what to learn the differences that exist. How would you defend mythology’s relevance in contemporary culture? Think about familial and cultural traditions. Also, consider how mythology is used in the arts and in advertising to typify human experience. Mythology has had extensive influence on today and many years to come because there are many things that people research and want to know more about. Many people had to tell stories and talk about what they heard or what they were told because they did not have computers, printing and many other things that we have today. Many of the myths are told today that are interesting and still today makes people want to learn more which is exactly what myths are suppose to do, want to learn and believe in certain things. Today there are a lot of books paintings and many other inspirational things that makes everyone want to know what happened, along with all of us making our own myths today to pass down to future generations to come. The human experiences are great because just like a certain group of people that test the myths and find out if they are true or not but the whole time they are testing the myths they have fun doing so, along with teaching many of the myths that they are testing. References Leonard, S., McClure, M. (2004). Myth knowing: An introduction to world mythology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. (2005). PBS. What is a Myth? Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/mythsandheroes/myths_what.html.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Use Case: An Analysis

Use Case: An Analysis Use Case A use case diagram depicts the units of functionality of the system as well as the actors capable of carrying out these functions. An actor is a person within the system needed to carry out a particular function. A function is depicted by an oval text box and is referred to as a use case as well, use case in this terms meaning unit of functionality. A Use Case diagram is a compilation of Use Cases to form a system. There are four actors within the MPP system. This does not suggest that only four literal people are responsible for operating the entire system. An actor is a classification of a person. In essence an actor refers to something general such as a job title as in this example the four actors are Secretary, HR Manager, Accountant and Staff Member. This use case diagram suggests that the classification of actors are responsible for the duties they are connected to. As such all persons holding that job title will be required to fulfil the duties depicted. The duties or use cases are explain further as use case specifications and the actors are details as classes in task two. Use Case Specifications Number: UC0001 Name Create Employee Actors Secretary, HR Manager Goal: To add a new member of staff Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Secretary, HR Manager Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Secretary gives member a form 2 Member fills form an returns it to secretary 3 HR Manager reviews form and approves employee 4 Secretary notifies employee 5 HR Manager confirms details Alternatives Index Actor Event A 1/1 Person Not Approved A 1/1.1 HR Manager disapproves person A 1/1.2 Secretary notifies person A 1/2 Invalid Data A 1/2.1 Person confirms data invalid A 1/2.2 HR Manager edits details A 1/2.3 Person confirms details This use case specification explains the procedure to be undertaken when adding a new member of staff to the MPP payroll. This process involves both the HR manager and the secretary in terms of the system. The secretary initially distributes a form to the potential employee to fill within which the applicants qualifications and contact information is kept on file. The details mentioned within the specification encompass all the personal information of the applicant inclusive of contact information as well as personal details. This information is then sent to the HR manager to review where a decision is made to approve the employee for an interview. This decision dictates whether the secretary contact the applicant to inform them of an upcoming interview or to inform them that their application has been rejected. The assumption here is that MPP only hires members of the party to become staff members. Number: UC0002 Name Create a Member Actors Secretary Goal: To add a new member to the MPP party Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Secretary Create an Election Candidate Create a Member of Parliament Create a Regional Assembly Member Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Person requests membership 2 Secretary creates new member record 3 Secretary confirms persons details to be accurate 4 Member is added to membership list Alternatives Index Actor Event A 2/1 Incorrect Details A 2/1.1 Secretary enters incorrect details A 2/1.2 Secretary edits details A 2/1.3 Person confirms details This use case specification depicts how a new member of MPP is added to the system. There is an estimated fifty thousand members of the party whom which information is needed to be stored as they are relied on during election time when the party is campaigning for election. The political party most probably doesnt discriminate the right of membership by any one person. Seeing that not much clerical data needs to be manipulated the secretary is fully capable of adding a member to the party. The process begins as a person requests membership to the party. The secretary then enters the members personal information especially their contact information as given by the applicant. Once the member confirms the information to be accurate the record is saved and thereby added to the membership list of MPP. Number: UC0003 Name Create an Election Candidate Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a new Election Candidate Use Case Relationships Extend: Create a Member Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member elects Member to become candidate 2 Staff Member contacts Member 3 Member confirms 4 Staff Member adds member to shortlist 5 Staff Member changes member position to EC Alternatives Index Actor Event A 3/1 Member Disapproves A 3/1.1 Staff Member elects another Member to become candidate This system assumes that only existing members of the party are elected to become election candidates for a particular seat. A member therefore can be classified as an election candidate once their name has been added to a shortlist, which is a list of potential election candidates for a particular area. Using this assumption a member position classification was created within the member file an as such a member may have many classifications ranging from volunteer represented as VOL and election candidate represented as EC. Once an election candidate wins an election for a post they may be contending their position will be changed to Member of Parliament or Regional Assembly Member respectively as will be discovered. Number: UC0004 Name Create a Member of Parliament Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a new Member of Parliament Use Case Relationships Extend: Create a Member Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Candidate is voted member of parliament 2 Staff Member changes member position to MOP Alternatives Index Actor Event A 4/1 Member Looses Election A 4/1.4 Staff Member changes Member position to VOL Number: UC0005 Name Create a Regional Assembly Member Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a new Regional Assembly Member Use Case Relationships Extend: Create a Member Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Candidate is voted Regional Assembly Member 2 Staff Member changes member position to RAM Alternatives Index Actor Event A 4/1 Member Looses Election A 4/1.4 Staff Member changes Member position to VOL Both the Create a member of parliament and Create a regional assembly member use cases rely on the Create a member use case. Once a member looses an election his position within the party is reassigned to a volunteer. Number: UC0006 Name Add Member to shortlist Actors Staff Member Goal: To add a Member to a shortlist Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Member approves to become a candidate 2 Staff Member adds member details to shortlist 3 Staff Member changes Member position to EC Alternatives Index Actor Event A 4/1 Member Steps Down A 4/1.1 Member notifies Staff Member A 4/1.2 Staff Member removes member from shortlist A 4/1.3 Staff Member edits Member position A staff member is responsible for adding a member to the shortlist thereby creating an election candidate. The shortlist is a record of potential election candidates of the MPP. Editing of the shortlist is as simple as editing a table. A staff member is responsible for this responsibility. This use cases is used in conjunction with the Create an election candidate use case within which adding a member to a shortlist is referred to. Once a member agrees to become an election candidate their personal information is added to a list of potential candidates for a particular seat within a respective area. Number: UC0007 Name Contact Members Actors Staff Member, Secretary Goal: To contact members of the party Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member/Secretary queries member details 2 Secretary/Staff Member contacts Member Alternatives Index Actor Event A 7/1 Contact Unavailable A 7/1.1 Contact unavailable at given contact A 7/1.2 Use another form of contact given by the member This use case the procedure to be undertaken when contacting a member of the party. As shown, only full time workers and secretaries contact members. There are many uses of this unit of functionality beyond the boundry of this system. The political party requires that sufficient contact information is stored on each member as individual members are relied on during the campaigning process to organise meetings and assist with advertisement. The contact information that is stored on an individual member of the party includes a telephone contact, home mailing address and email address. The staff members as well as the secretary therefore have three options in which to utilise when contacting a member. Number: UC0008 Name Record Income Actors Staff Member Goal: To record income generated by MPP Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member records Invoice Number 2 Staff Member records income Details 3 Staff Member records the ID number 4 Staff Member records the Amount 5 Staff Member records the date generated Alternatives Index Actor Event A 8/1 Incorrect Record A 8/1.1 Income is recorded incorrectly A 8/1.2 Staff Member confirms details with Invoice A 8/1.2 Staff Member edits details The member of the party responsible for recording income will be a full time employee of the party. Since there are several offices each of which generate individual incomes there must be persons within each regional office to account for funds the party may receive, either by subscriptions received or from other sources such as donations from persons interested in supporting the party and its objectives. The person receiving income distributes an invoice through which a record is kept of individual payments to the party. This invoice must contain all the information needed on the transaction such as what the payment was for, whether it is a subscription or donation. The invoice also contains who made the payment, how much money was paid to MPP and what date was the payment made. In the instance of a donation a record is kept of the donor personal information so they are kept on record an assigned a donor identification number. This is to ensure full accountability of the finances reaching the party. This donor number is entered into the â€Å"ID Number† field in the income table. Where a member pays their annual subscription to the party their member ID is stored within the same field. This ensures accountability for the transaction as well as a record of the subscription received for that individual member. Number: UC0009 Name Record Expenditure Actors Staff Member Goal: To record expenditure incurred by MPP Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member records Receipt Number 2 Staff Member records expenditure Details 3 Staff Member records the ID number 4 Staff Member records the Amount 5 Staff Member records the date incurred Alternatives Index Actor Event A 9/1 Incorrect Record A 9/1.1 Expenditure is recorded incorrectly A 9/1.2 Staff Member confirms details with receipt A 9/1.3 Staff Member edits details Full time employees are also responsible for recording the expenditure incurred by the party. The operation of any political party requires a host of expenses in which to organise and manage the party properly. The individual offices of the party will incur expenses for each office it maintains. The main expenses that must be accounted for include payment of rent for the various offices that the party operates. Salaries must also be accounted for as MPP employs over a hundred individuals which accounts for a major portion of the partys expenditure. A major part of any election campaign is advertising which as for MPP includes television advertising as well as leaflets that need to be distributed by the partys members. Along with these major expenditures the party may also incur miscellaneous expenses in order to keep the offices running such as telephone bills and mailing expenses, all of these are classified as sundry expenses. Whenever any expenditure is incurred all receipts given to the party is filed and documented. These receipts are used to document all the expenditure incurred by the party as the amount, dates and to whom payments are made are documented on the receipt. Each office, member and advertiser are assigned an ID number so that a level of accountability can be maintained as to whom payments are made. Number: UC0010 Name Generate Financial Report Actors Staff Member, Accountant Goal: To generate a financial report for each office Use Case Relationships Extend: Include: Associations: Generalisation: Description Index Actor Event 1 Staff Member/Accountant selects Financial Report table 2 Staff Member/Accountant print Financial Report Alternatives Index Actor Event A 10/1 Incorrect Report Printed A 10/1.1 User selects correct report A 10/1.2 User prints correct report Each regional office is expected to produce a financial report to account for its activities. This will make for easier planning and budgeting by the national officers responsible for this such as the accounts department of the party. Therefore both party members as well as the national accountant can generate a financial report. To ensure the legitimacy of the financial reports the political party is expected to employ an internal as well as external auditor that examines the financial reports and compares them to the income and expenditure of the party. The financial report entails the total income generated as well as the total expenditure incurred for a particular office. These s can be used to determine the General Reserve available for funding the partys activities. Activity Diagrams An Activity Diagram the logical flow of data within a particular use case. The following diagrams show the Create a Member use case but in two different activity diagram formats. The first diagram simply the logical order in a flow chart fashion. The second diagram the same use case with the implication of swim lanes. Class Diagram Class diagrams are used to identify the objects of the system and show how they relate to each other and their attributes. The class diagram used to analyse the objects associated with the MPP and depict their relationships with each other. Everything is related to each other through the MPP class. It is an empty class but is there to show that the generalisation relationship exists between the Regional Office and Head Office Class and the MPP class. Most other relationships within this diagram are generalisation relationships depicted by the empty arrow head. This diagram is structured in a hierarchal format. A generalisation relationship allows the subclasses of any parent class to inherit the properties of the parent class. This feature is also show in the diagram by the empty boxes within the Secretary, Staff Member, Accountant and HR Manager classes. This does not suggest that these classes dont have any attributes but that they inherit the attributes of their parent class. The other relationships depicted is; the relationship between the Staff Member class and the Income, Expenditures and Financial Report classes, and between the Accountant class and the Financial Report class. These relationships show an association relationship as the classes interact with each other on some level of their functionality. The individual classes are explained in detail within their respective CRC card. CRC Cards A tool used to document the purpose and capability of a class is the CRC card. CRC stand for Class-Responsibility-Collaboration, as will be discovered, is exactly what the cards depict along with several other features of the class. The CRC cards represented in this section depict the classes identifies in the MPP system and show how they relate to each other. Name: Regional Office ID:1 Type: Concrete Description A MPP office representing a region of Contentedland Associated Use Cases: Record Expenditure Responsibilities Collaborators Full Time Employee Employee Attributes Relationships Office ID Generalisation: MPP(super class) Region Member (subclass) Address Donor (subclass) Monthly Rent Employee (subclass) Aggregation: Other Association: Full Time Employee Expenditure The regional office class is a subset of the MPP as a whole. There are several regional offices namely; Northland, Southland, Eastland, Westland and Central. Each office will possess the same characteristics as the other and as such are represented by a single regional office class within the class diagram. Distinction between classes is possible through the attributes of the class utilised and as such can be uniquely identified. The assumption made is that the entire system is divided into regions and as such all corresponding members and records are also presented in that regional office category. Name: Member ID: 2 Type: Abstract Description A Member of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create Member, Create an Election Candidate, Create a Member of Parliament, Create a Regional Assembly Member Responsibilities Collaborators Full Time Employee Income Attributes Relationships Member ID Address Generalisation: Regional office(concrete class) Last Name E-mail Aggregation: First Name Office Other Association: Full Time Employee Title County Secretary Date-of-Birth Position Telephone The member class comprises all the attributes of all the members of MPP. The assumption is that, regardless of hierarchal qualification all members of the party share common attributes and inevitably are all members of the party. This assumption gives way for the â€Å"position† attribute within the member class. A member according to the party can be a volunteer that assists the party in some way for no charge. Members are also election candidates who contend regional and national elections. The member doesnt change their nature only their position when they are elected and become either a Member of Parliament or a Regional Assembly Member. As such the member class depicts that it is associated with the creation of all members of the party as they relate to their appropriate use cases within the system. Sufficient contact information is stored on members of the party as they may need to be contacted during election time when the party wishes to implement a rigorous advertising campaign. The email contact of each member may be a useful attribute as it is more efficient to send a mass email to all members than to individually contact them. Name: Donor ID:3 Type: Abstract Description A person other than a member of MPP that donates to the party Associated Use Cases: Record Income Responsibilities Collaborators Full Time Employee Income Attributes Relationships Donor ID Telephone Generalisation: Regional Office(Abstract class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Full Time Employee Title Office Income Date-of-Birth County Income is earned through subscriptions as well as through donations. People who donate to the party does not necessarily have to be a member. A person whos interests are aligned with the policies of the party may choose to donate to their campaign in a hope that they may win the election. Information needs to be stored on such individuals to account for the sometimes large sums of money they may give to the political party. It is also useful where the party wishes to contact these members for one reason or the other. A Donor share similar attributes to members however as they are not members of the party they do not require a position field. However sufficient contact information is kept on these individuals so the party can always keep in touch with them. Name: Employee ID: 4 Type: Concrete Description An Employee of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create a Staff Member Responsibilities Collaborators HR Manager Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: Regional Office(Abstract class) Last Name Address Secretary(sub class) First Name E-mail Staff Member(sub class) Title Office Aggregation: Date-of-Birth County Other Association: HR Manager Position The political party hires full time employees to coordinate their activities. These employees are classified under each regional office and withdraw a salary from the party. Employees include Staff Members whose hierarchal classification is determined within each regional office as well as Secretaries who attend to each office of MPP. Name: Secretary ID: 5 Type: Abstract Description An Employee of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create a Member, Contact Member Responsibilities Collaborators Create a Member Member Edit Member HR Manager Delete Member Staff Member Contact Member Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: Employee(Abstract class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: HR Manager Title Office Member Date-of-Birth County Staff Member Position The Secretary of the party is responsibilities include contacting members as well as adding members to the party. However they can only maintain volunteer records. Staff Members are responsible for the management of the other members of the party. Name: Staff Member ID: 5 Type: Concrete Description An Employee of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create Member, Contact Member, Add Member to Shortlist, Create an Election Candidate, Create a Regional Assembly Member, Create a Member of Parliament, Record Income, Record Expenditure, Generate Financial Report Responsibilities Collaborators Record Income HR Manager Record Expenditure Secretary Generate Financial Report Add Member Edit Member Delete Member Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: Employee(Abstract class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Income Title Office Expenditure Date-of-Birth County Financial Report Position HR Manager Secretary Staff members handle the brunt of the work within the party. Staff Members is a general term used to describe all the full time party workers who are employed within the regional offices of the political party. Staff members include all the party workers represented for each county of Contentedland. The duties of these members function similarly to clerical duties within an office. These staff members are allocated duties within the office structure oven though each member is responsible for their respective county that they oversee. Name: Head Office ID: 6 Type: Concrete Description The Head Office of MPP Associated Use Cases: Record Expenditure Responsibilities Collaborators National Officer HR Manager Accountant Attributes Relationships Office ID Generalisation: MPP (super class) Region National Officer(subclass) Address Aggregation: Monthly Rent Other Association: Staff Member Expenditure The Head Office posses the same characteristics as a regional office and it functions similarly as well. The difference between the head office and the regional office aside from its geography, is the employees that it houses. The assumption made is that the national officers within the head office function as managerial employees as would happen within a typical company. It should be structured in a way so that the ten national officers act as the managerial departments of the political party inclusive of the accounts department and the human resource department used within this scenario. Name: Accountant ID: 7 Type: Abstract Description The accountant responsible for the finances of MPP Associated Use Cases: Generate Financial Report Responsibilities Collaborators Financial Report Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: National Officer(concrete class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Financial Report Title Office Date-of-Birth County Position The accountant of the MPP is housed within the head office of the party. The accountant has the duty of managing the finances of MPP. The accountant is also responsible for generating the financial reports that are to be audited to produce a tax which the party must incur annually. This expenditure is classified as a sundry expense and must be accounted for within the finances of the party. The accountant is also responsible for ensure that proper control procedures are in place in terms of managing money the party receives. After all he is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the financial records and ensuring that they are in good standing with the laws of the country. Name: HR Manager ID: 8 Type: Abstract Description The HR Manager of MPP Associated Use Cases: Create a Staff Member Responsibilities Collaborators Add Employee Employee Edit Employee Delete Employee Attributes Relationships Employee ID Telephone Generalisation: National Officer(concrete class) Last Name Address Aggregation: First Name E-mail Other Association: Employee Title Office Accountant Date-of-Birth County Position In keeping with the assumption, the HR Manager is classified under the head office as this position is a managerial role. The human resource manager holds the same attributes as any other employee of MPP how ever his duties implicate him to be the one to manage the records of all the employees of the party. Name: Income ID: 9 Type: Abstract Description Revenue generated by MPP Associated Use Cases: Record Income Responsibilities Collaborators Print Staff Member Display Attributes Relationships Invoice Number Generalisation: Income Details Aggregation: ID Number Other Association: Staff Member Amount Financial Report Date Generated Income is generated through two sources in the party. The attributes of income allow for any sort of income to be documented, whether it is a subscription received from a member or a donation given to the party. A staff member is responsible for recording income into the system. The summation of the income table is exported to the financial report to form the net income . Name: Expenditure ID: 10 Type: Abstract Description Expenditure incurred by MPP Associated Use Cases: Record Expenditure Responsibilities Collaborators Print Staff Member Display Attributes Relationships Receipt Number Generalisation: Expenditure Details Aggregation: ID Number Other Association: Staff Member Amount Financial Report Date Incurred Expenditure is incurred from several means. A Staff Member is responsibl

Friday, October 25, 2019

Earnest Hemingway :: essays research papers fc

Earnest Hemingway Earnest Miller Hemingway was born in Oak Park Illinois. After graduating from high school, he got a job at a paper called "Kansas City Star". Hemingway continually tried to enter the military, but his messed up eye, hindered this task. Hemingway had managed to get a job driving an American Red Cross ambulance. During this expedition, he was injured and hospitalized. Hemingway had an crush for a particular nurse at that hospital, her name was Agnes von Kurowsky. Hemingway continually proposed to her, and she continually denied. When Hemingway healed his injuries, he moved back to Michigan, and had wanted to write again. When he married Hadley Richardson and was working in France, as a foreign correspondent, for the "Toronto Star". In 1925, he wrote a book called "In Our Time", which was marketed in New York. The next year he published a book called "The Sun Also Rises", a novel where he had his first success. "The Sun Also Rises", deals with a group of desultory people in exile from France and Spain-members of the "lost generation", a phrase made famous by Hemingway himself. In post-war years, Hemingway spent most of his time writing books. But, when his first marriage failed, and had a son, John, he had married Pauline Pfeiffer, who had his next 2 children. Based in Paris, he had traveled for skiing, bullfighting, fishing, or hunting that by then had become what most of his work was all about. Hemingway, started writing short stories, among them was "Men Without Women" in 1927, and "A Farewell to Arms" in 1929. This story shows a love story within a war time setting. Many people believe that Hemingway, did his writing at this period of his life. He once confessed "If I had not been hunting and fishing, I would have probably been writing." Hemingway's stories were based on adventure, and different aspects of it. His love of Spain, and his love of bullfighting, led him to write a book called "Death in the Afternoon". During the 1930's, Spain was in a civil war, still having ties in Spain, Hemingway made 4 trips their. He raised money, for a party called the "Loyalists". He wrote a book about it called "The Fifth Column". In this book, the narrator is the protagonist. From more experience in Spain, he wrote a book called "Whom the Bell Tolls" in 1940. This book was the most successful writing, based on sales of the book. All of Hemingway's life, has been fascinated by wars. For example, in "A Farewell to Arms", he focused on how war had

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Marketing and Product Essay

â€Å"Your boss has just returned from a Senior Executive Workshop for Marketing Directors. He explains to you that the focus of the workshop was on the importance of the positioning statement to effective strategy development. Full of new-found enthusiasm, he asks you to prepare a short paper on positioning for the next board meeting. He wants you to demonstrate the importance of positioning strategy to business success. Write that paper† Introduction STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) marketing is also called strategic marketing, involves finding correct segment in which to market your product, identify the proper target market and positioning the product to create maximum profits. The most important of STP marketing is determining exactly what benefits your product offers and who will benefit most from using it. STP is important for marketer to create a competitive advantage and marketing plan designed specifically for the customers who will be most likely to buy the product. The STP process allows marketer to identify the correct segment to market the product and use the marketing mix to maximize profits. Marketing Strategy: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Segmentation, targeting and positioning are essential parts in the marketing strategy that can help company to market their product better using the appropriate marketing mix. The following diagram illustrates the steps and connection between these three important plan that used by marketers to market their product efficiently. [pic] Diagram 1: The main steps in market segmentation, targeting and positioning Source: Doyle and Stern (2006) Segmentation Market consists of customers and customers vary from each other. The variation are depends on factors such as resources, wants, buying attitude, locations and buying practice. Segmentation means dividing a market by certain criteria such as geographical, demographic, psychographic and behavioral. By dividing the market, a marketer can easily identify what type of segment is suitable for the chosen product and large market can be divided into smaller segments which can be managed more efficiently and effectively. These criteria or variables that be used for segmentation are as follows: (1) Geographic Segmentation It refers to location including regions, continent, country, area size, village, city and the climate. A company needs to put attention on variability of geographic needs and wants. (2) Demographic Segmentation It refers to measureable statistics such as income, age, gender, education, occupation, religion, nationality, race, language and family size. It’s crucial to consider the demographic factors while defining market strategy. (3) Psychographic Segmentation It refers to a segment of lifestyle, personality, attitudes and values. A segment having demographically grouped customers may have different psychographic characteristics. (4) Behavioral Segmentation Other than the above, another basis for segmentation is behavioral segmentation. This is the most favorable segmentation as it uses the variables that really close to the product itself. Buying status, buying role and user type are the common behavioral segmentation. Some customers  are brand loyal; they tend to stick with their preferred brand. Effective segmentation is achieved when customers sharing the similar patterns of demand are grouped together, where each group different in the pattern of demand from other segments in the market. Basically, all the following have to be considered before segmentation: (1) Measureable: Able to measure in terms of potential customers in each segment which means it should be able to tell how many potential customers as well as how many competitors in the same segment. (2) Accessible: Able to reach selected market targets with its individual marketing efforts which means segment should be accessible through any types of communication method and distribution such as transportation, distributors and internet. (3) Meaningful: Able to differentiate preferences or needs and show clear variations in market behavior and response to each designed marketing mix. (4) Substantial: Able to lead to segments which sufficiently large to be economically and practically served as market targets with selected marketing mix. Targeting After segmentation, the next step is targeting. Targeting is the process of selecting a segment to aim. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2004), the following three main strategies that can be used to enter and exploit the segments. (1) Undifferentiated strategies (mass marketing) – The aim of the strategy is to offer a basic product that would suit and be used by almost all age groups and lifestyle. (2) Differentiated strategies (segmented marketing) – Focus on targeting two or more markets, each of them use different marketing programme. (3) Concentrated strategies (niche marketing) – The company focuses on targeting a large share of one or a few segments. The niche marketing defines the specific product features focus to satisfy specific market needs. Generally, targeting is depending on several factors as the followings: †¢ The existing level of competition and the ability to meet customer needs. †¢ The size of the segment (how large and how can it grow). †¢ The strengths of a company that can help to appeal a group customer (company reputation). †¢ The ability to communicate with the segment. Basically, the advantages of target marketing are: †¢ Marketing opportunities and ‘gaps† will be more accurately indentified. The gaps can be the real thing about the product or how customers view the product emotionally. By indentifying this, an appropriate advertising message can be implemented in the minds of customers. †¢ Market and product appeals through the manipulation of marketing mix will be more suitable to the needs of potential customers. †¢ Marketing effort can be focus on the market segment which would be a potential for the company to achieve it’s goal and maximize the profit. Positioning After segmenting a market and then targeting a customer, the next process is to position a product in the market. Positioning is about ‘perception’ and creating the image of the product in customer’s mind. In other words, positioning is about delivering the unique selling advantage of the product. Positioning is useful in order to understand what we can offer that the other products are not able to offer. On top of that, the customer’s needs and wants can be satisfied. . A product has to have a clear and distinctive image in the mind of the customer. This is exactly what positioning creates. Basically, the positioning strategy is mainly focusing on the following points: †¢ Provide value to customer with the competitive advantage, strengths and distinctive competencies. †¢ Market segmentation forms the basis for focused strategies. †¢ Finding the unique selling proposition by distinguishes a brand from its competitors. †¢ Conduct analysis to study on internal, market & competitor. Positioning is the process of creating, the image the product holds in the mind of customers about the product. For example, Gardenia and Federal  Bakery both are in the bakery industry. Although Federal Bakery may try to compete they will still be seen as down market from Gardenia. Positioning helps customers understand what is unique about the products when compared with the competitors. Gardenia has been positioned based on the process of positioning by direct comparison with other competitors such as Italian Baker (Massimo) and Silverbird (Hi-5), and have positioned their products to benefit their target market. Most people create an image of a product by comparing it to another similar product and the image of that has been positioned by the customers about Gardenia is particularly on the variety that they offers and its healthy ingredients. The company can use Point of Different (POD) and Point of Parity (PAP) in the effort to make a better positioning strategy. By using POD and PAP, the company would be able to see the difference and similarities between their products and competitor’s brand. It’s important to establish the POD but it’s also important to decrease the competition by matching it on the POP. [pic] Diagram 2: Point of Different and Point of Parity Using Point of Different (POD) and Point of Parity (PAP) for Gardenia and it’s competitors in the bakery industry, the result are as shown below: Point of Different (POD) †¢ Large variety of breads such as sunflower seed loaf, honey loaf. †¢ No preservatives and use natural ingredients. Point of Parity (PAP) †¢ Produce the basic thing like the competitors (loaf, bun). Some customers prefer to buy Gardenia than it’s competitor such as Federal Bakery, Massimo and Hi-5 because of the differences that other competitors can’t offer. The variety of bread (other than normal white loaf) that they are offerings is not available with competitor’s brand and they also sell  other things like waffles and muffins. The Importance of Positioning It is important for a successful business to market itself right. Through positioning, a lot of advertising money can be saved. Positioning is about communication of the overall value proposition that has been created and maintains it to the customers. In order to be effective, the basic value proposition by the company has to be something relevant to the target market and it must be differentiated from the competitors. It must also sustainable and communicated clearly to that market. Therefore, differentiation at product, brand or company level is now been recognized as one of the key element of establishing a stable market positioning. The differentiating can be based on the features or attributes of the product (actual) or based on the image of the product (perceived). Differentiation can be done with different element of the marketing mix. It may involve the features of attributes that gives customers more benefits than the competitor or from the brand unique image itself. A good and quality product is not a guarantee to be success in the market. The most important is the product has to have a clear and distinctive image in the mind of the customers. This is the reason why positioning needs to be created. Positioning has to be managed at every aspect where customers have the contact with the company mainly in communication and telephonic interaction. This is one of the effective ways to avoid any confusion about the product in the mind of the customers. Positioning helps company to give a direction to their marketing plan. Prior to that, what’s important is the company must develop it core competencies before announce to others what it can offer. [pic] Diagram 3: Implementing Chosen Image and Appeal to Chosen Segment Positioning is important when the company wish how it’s products to be viewed by customers. From here, the company can decide where it wants to compete and it would be able to compete. The perception from customers is what they believe about certain product. The product competitive advantage not only related to the features and attributes of the product alone, but also related to it’s perceived image. For example, Research In Motion (RIM), the company that produces Blackberry phone has chosen to position itself as the maker of Qwerty-Key’s smartphone which enable to compose and read the e-mail better. Hence, RIM has done a lot through it’s advertising to promote the features. The perceived image of the product is very important if the company wants to compete in the minds of target customers. What customer believes or perceives are actually influence the purchase decision. A strong brand positioning direct marketing strategy by explaining the brand details, the uniqueness of the brand and it’s similarity with competitor’s brand in the market. Positioning is the basic strategy for developing and enhancing the knowledge and perception of the customers. For example, Maybelline cosmetics represent youth and excitement to their target customers; young girls who looking for affordable and quality cosmetics. A systematic positioning can create the brand identity and a proper brand image. The company can increase the market share and company profits if the right positioning used in their marketing strategy. Moreover, it can prevent the company making a wrong positioning. There are various positioning mistakes such as: (1) Under Positioning Under this scenario, customers are unable to get the clear idea of the brand. It happens when the company failed to present a strong central benefits and reason to buy the product. For example, MonaVie Inc is the company that markets a supplement in liquid form called â€Å"MonaVie† but many customers do not know what sort of product that they are actually selling. Some customers think that they are selling normal juices. (2) Over Positioning Under this scenario, customers have a limited awareness of the brand. It happens when the company makes the product too specific for certain group of customers and other customers may believes that the product is not for them maybe because of the high price or other reasons. For example, ‘Uluwatu†, a clothing brand from Indonesia has position itself as a premium Indonesian boutique although they are also selling medium priced clothes. (3) Confused Positioning Under this scenario, customers have a confused opinion of the brand. It is because the company claimed two or more benefits that contradict each other. For example, Tutti Frutti claims that the company is serving a healthy and low fat frozen yogurt but there are certain topping which is from a preserved canned fruits that are not really good for health. Which is more important, the healthy aspect or taste ? (4) Doubtful Positioning Under this scenario, customers do not accept the claims of a brand. Customers will doubt on the benefits that the brand can actually deliver. For example, Garnier has market a facial wash that claims to be effective in making a skin fairer but no successful testimonial has been shown so far. The Approaches in Positing Strategy Positioning strategy can be developed in object attributes, application, target customers and the characteristics of the product itself.  These factors represent a different approach in developing positioning strategy. Once a company decides what approach to be chosen in positioning, it must start to communicate the message to the customer at every contact point. The following are the approaches to position strategy: (1) Using Product Characteristics or Customer Benefits The characteristic of the product or customer benefits are the main focus in this strategy. For example, motor vehicles are usually emphasized on product characteristic such as fuel economy, power and other features. Certain products are positioned along with more than single product characteristics at the same time. (2) Using Pricing Sometimes, customers tend to relate the price of the products and the quality (price-quality). This is the perception that most of the customers perceive that expensive product is often to have a higher quality than a cheap one. This so called quality approach is important if the marketer wants to set a premium image in their product. (3) Based on Use or Application In this type of strategy, a second or third position is using to expand the brand’s market. By introducing the new uses of the product, automatically it will expand the brand market. For example, Milo for many years positioned itself as an energy drink other than normal chocolate drink. (4) Based on Product Process Under this strategy, the product is associated with its users or a class of users. For example, Longines, a watch brand has appointed Aishwarya Rai as the product ambassador to develop a fashion and luxury image in their brand. In this case, the expectation is the model or celebrity will influence the product’s image by reflecting their image which communicated as a product  user. (5) Based on Product Class Some products require critical positioning. For example, coffee powder needed to position itself with creamer or condensed milk. For example, Nescafe has positioned itself with the instant creamer. (6) Based on Logo / Symbol Symbol or logo is being used to differentiate their brands from other competitors. Using and implementing trademarks generally follow this type of positioning. For example, Malaysian Airline’s logo which is â€Å"traditional kites-wau† logo can be recognized by many peoples. (7) Based on competitors In this strategy, one or more competitors are using as a reference. Basically, the similar positioning strategy used by the competitors or use a new strategy by taking the competitor’s strategy as the basis. For example, Celcom has published an advertisement that compares their services with other competitors such as Maxis and Digi using the competitor’s corporate colors. Brand Positioning: Princess Shoes One of the most important things in managing a brand positioning is positively compare it with competitor’s brand in the mind of customers in target market. It’s essential for the brand to communicate the key values of the products and the business. â€Å"Princess† is the Malaysian company which produces women shoes for the medium price market segment. Previously known only as a brand that only sells shoes for low income customers, but today it’s already expanded to medium price market segment. Princess has developed elements such as pride and fashion with their product and within its unique selling proposition. They are successfully building their own unique brand image and reaching their target customers. Their marketing objective is to reposition it’s brand (from normal shoes to high fashion shoes) and capturing new markets. The marketing strategy aimed to the follows: †¢ Introduce the new design which is more up-to-date †¢ Make customers excited about the brand †¢ Create a sense of â€Å"fashionable† about the brand. Analyzing the marketing mix (the 4Ps) that they are implementing, basically it’s like the follows: Target: Low and medium income women. †¢ Product: Fashionable and comfortable shoes. †¢ Price: Sell at affordable price. †¢ Place: Sell at shopping malls and shop lots. †¢ Promotion: Uses internet and newspaper to announce their new products. Conclusion Positioning is how the target market defines the brand in relation with the competitors. It’s what we called the brand identity. A brand is a relationship between the company and customers. When we form a relationship, we have to show who we are to our customers. Through positioning, the company should be able to communicate with the customers effectively and efficiently. One of the benefits of good business planning is strategic positioning especially in the modern world where technology is improving from time to time and market grow constantly and become more defined. The marketer can use the business plan with review and revision is done as and when needed, in order to keep track on the right positioning. The constant change in segmentation sometimes can happen. Take broadcasting industry as an example, 15 years ago we have not more than 4 channels, now we have various channels under Astro. Therefore, in certain situation, some broadcasting companies have to review and revise their positioning in order to keep on being competitive in the growing markets. Even when a marketer involve in the process of choosing a brand name, create design, develop promotion strategy and define the pricing strategy, they have to remember the most crucial above all this are a good positioning. When defining a positioning strategy, the marketer should consider how the positioning makes the brand unique and more importantly, all the qualities can be perceived as value added by the target customers. For example, if one shoes brand is hand made from rare leather, how many customers in the target market actually would see this as strength (in point of different). If they really see this as a unique point, then it can be used as positioning. Otherwise, being different cannot bring any special attraction no value added or benefit to the brand or customers. Indeed, the effort to branding a product is time consuming and positioning is just a first step to build a relationship with the customers. Before start with the brand positioning, the marketer have to see who are the competitors that already in the market before the unique positioning can be planned. By measuring the competition, the marketer would know whether the customers in the target market already satisfied with competitor’s brand or there is any chance for another brand can take advantage of. For example, if a new brand is going to be marketed although there are 5 brands already in the market, it’s really important for a marketer to think how to compete. Without a strong positioning, the product will be seen as imitator or copycat rather than a fresh new brand. The competitions allow the customers to know what they can expect from certain brand. The marketer should think how to compete by showing the different to the customers compared to other similar brands in the market. The key is to exhibit what the brand can offer as â€Å"value added† if the competitors have similar product offerings and know how to overcome them if the competition is too high. The purpose of market study is to help the marketer to realize what market and potential customers that they will targeted before making an investment. There are varieties of strategy that the marketer can use when determining positioning. The great thing about this is when the similar product or concept already in the market, the marketer can use a specific positioning strategy and identify the point of different. For example, 100 Plus is positioned as an isotonic drink brand focusing on active lifestyle while the competitor, Excel (another isotonic drink’s brand) is now positioned as â€Å"cola flavoured isotonic drink†. They are basically the same products, the base is same which is isotonic drinks, but each of them are focusing on different positioning that giving them a competitive advantage and unique identity. Having a good product does not guarantee success. Some great products failed in the market because they cannot position themselves correctly. A marketer should think about positioning before anything else like design and packaging. As a conclusion, the positioning strategy is a must if a product needs to compete in the market. The image that creates in the mind of customer will determine whether the product can be sold because that is one of the reasons before customer make a purchase. By having the comprehensive positioning strategy, the company would survive and more importantly to increase the market share and maximise the profits. Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org http://www.ehow.com/info_8693419_stp-marketing.html Kotler, P., and Armstrong, G. (2004) â€Å"Principles of marketing†, 10th edition, N.J., Pearson Education. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/brand-positioning.htm Callin Gilliam(2010) Marketing Segmentation, Targeting and Posistioning ,p339 http://www.ivoryresearch.com/nicole-johnson.php

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Compare/Contrast of Political Parties Essay

INDEPENDENT PARTY 1) Values and Beliefs -Protect the right to life of the innocent unborn; -Stop the undeclared wars which are daily costing American lives and billions of tax dollars; -Stop reckless spending, including foreign aid, and take care of America’s domestic needs -End debt financing of both Federal and State governments; -End the Federal income tax, and restore a tariff based revenue system; -Immediately terminate international trade agreements such as NAFTA, WTO, and the proposed FTAA, and stop sending high paying American jobs to foreign countries; -Reduce immigration, and stop all government subsidies to illegal aliens; no driver’s licenses for illegals; deport all illegal aliens; -Defend America’s moral values; keep God in the pledge of allegiance; -Support high standards in education, including encouragement of private schools and home schooling; -Stop the pillaging of consumers and taxpayers by the energy/utility monopolies; -Defend Second Amendment rights; -Restore a debt free, interest free money system; -Uphold traditional marriage and family values; 2)History of the Independents -California’s American Independent Party has been a ballot qualified political party since 1968. The American Independent Party, which now has some 300,000 registered members in California, is affiliated at the national level with the Constitution Party. -On July 8, 1967, formal organization of California’s American Independent Party was completed at a convention held in Bakersfield. â€Å"A new party is urgently needed today because the leaders of the two existing parties, Democrat and Republican, have deserted the principles and traditions of our nation’s founding fathers. Control of the government, under the domination of these two existing parties, has left the hands of the people our government was created to serve.† -In 1967, Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama was on the move to run for President on a new party ticket. Wallace supporters greeted with enthusiasm the formation of the American Independent Party. -On August 3, 1968, the delegates to the state convention of the American Independent Party adopted the party’s first platform. This document held tremendous significance for A I P activists who had joined the new party because they wanted major changes in public policies. 3)Why Independent? -The American Independent Party has kept alive the best of the American principles which have largely been abandon by the Democrat and Republican parties.The American Independent Party has survived for over a quarter of a century because the party has had effective leaders, along with a popular platform, emphasizing respect for life, fiscal responsibility, a reduced role of government in people’s lives, reduction of the tax burden, control of crime, protection of American businesses, workers, and farmers from  unfair foreign competition, and an America first non-interventionist foreign policy. 4)Young Independents Today -Some have suggested that the American Independent Party may be out of step with young Americans whose views are alleged to be radically different from those of middle aged and older Americans. The commitment of Young Americans to the country’s traditional moral, political, and economic values, however, remains comparable to that of other age groups. -The future of the American Independent Party is assured by a market for its views among young Americans who do not have years of commitment to the dominant parties. Today, the political climate in America is changing. The people are looking for new voices, new choices, new vehicles for political expression. The people are looking to the American Independent Party for leadership. POPULIST PARTY 1)History -delegates adopted the platform of the People’s party also called the Populist party -the populists represented a grand coalition of farmers, laborers, and reformers, which aimed to put government back into the hands of the people -populist leaders were diverse and colorful -the populists chose their candidates amid calls for restricted immigration and a shorter workday for industrial laborers. -the party also aimed to convince the government to allow the free coinage of silver, a measure that would make silver, not just gold, legal tender. -despite action by the farmers alliances and the grangers the plight of thousands of farmers worsened. -the platform of the populist party called for extensive reforms -reformers believed that farmers and workers should be freed from the exploitative practices of banks and railroads and merchants -the populists gained 14 seats in congress, won 2 governorships, and received the largest number of popular votes cast for any third party in the 1800s -by the time of the 1896 election the populist party itself had declined but some of its ideas entered the mainstream -the continuing depression forced the democratic party into a more radical position on one key issue-unlimited coinage of silver -this stance led many populists to support the democratic candidate william jennings bryan of nebraska -populism began to decline -one factor limited populism’s strength in the south -peoples party failed to gain wide support in the south -the southern alliance advised its memebers to support major party candidates who favored agricultural interests -the underlying reason for the failure of populism in the south was the issue of white supremacy -the southern alliance feared that populism might lead to gains for african americans